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Posted by Rick Schofield on 10:28:03 03/03/13
The day started out crisp with a moderate wind but that didn't stop 14 brave souls from joining in the twice-monthly Audubon of the Everglades field trip to Storm Water Treatment Area 1 East (better known as STA-1E). (There were 6 weenies that felt the weather too cold for such an adventure but that's their loss.) While not quite balmy, the morning quickly warmed up with temperatures in the mid 60s and only a light breeze.
There is a section of STA-1E that is now off-limits to people as there are several pairs of Snail Kites nesting in that area. This has meant that we needed to adjust the normal route that we take. So we traveled down the eastern-most berm and then west to where we could set up scopes to check the ducks, other water birds, and the distant Snail Kites without invading their space. Just as we arrived at this location a huge flock of Black Skimmers circled around and around before settling down out of sight.
The variety of duck species is down as a large number have left for northern climes but we did get Blue- and Green-winged Teal, Mottled, and Ring-necked in this spot. (Canvasback was added later in the morning in another spot.)
Most all of the waders were present here including a large number of juvenile Black-crowned Night-Herons. The Swallows (Tree, Northern Rough-winged, and even 1 or 2 Cave) were going crazy -- swooping around us from all directions. I'm actually surprised that no one was hit!
Carlos was able to pish up a Marsh Wren and a Northern Waterthrush to add to the Palm Warblers and Savannah Sparrows that were hopping around.
Looping back north, we had more ducks, shorebirds, and waders including two dozen gorgeous Green-winged Teals swimming and dabbling. And then swinging west again, we found many shorebirds including flocks of Black-necked Stilts and Long-billed Dowitchers; a large number of Terns including Caspian, Forster's, and Gull-billed; as well as more ducks including the Canvasbacks that I mentioned earlier. These birds were seen to our left (to the south). On our right (to the north) were several Sora out in plain sight along with Purple Swamphens and Purple Gallinules and the expected other waders. It was in this area that we had both an adult and a juvenile Bald Eagle. (We had had another juvenile earlier.)
On the final leg we got to witness the spectacular stoop of a Peregrine Falcon which was terrorizing a bunch of American Coots.
And, finally, more shorebirds including Wilson's Snipe.
It was a very pleasant morning spent with a group of very pleasant people.
Thanks, as always, to the South Florida Water Management District for allowing us access to this spectacular habitat, and to BJ Kattel (SFWMD coordinator) and Linda Humphries (ASE coordinator) for arranging these trips.
Rick
STA-1E Auto entrance, Palm Beach, US-FL
Mar 2, 2013 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
8.75 mile(s)
Comments: Audubon of the Everglades STA-1E field trip. 14 birders; 5 cars; Rick Schofield, leader; Linda Humphries, coordinator.
65 species
Mottled Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Ring-necked Duck
Pied-billed Grebe
Wood Stork
Double-crested Cormorant
Anhinga
American White Pelican
American Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Snail Kite
Northern Harrier
Bald Eagle 3 (1 adult, 2 juvenile)
Sora
Purple Swamphen
Purple Gallinule
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Limpkin
Killdeer
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Lesser Yellowlegs
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Snipe
Ring-billed Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Black Skimmer
Belted Kingfisher
American Kestrel 2
Merlin 1
Peregrine Falcon 2
Monk Parakeet
Eastern Phoebe
Fish Crow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Cave Swallow
Marsh Wren
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
Savannah Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle
View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13239235
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
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